In the Bible, Meshech or Mosoch ( he, ''Mešeḵ'' "price" or "precious") is named as a son of

Japheth Japheth ( he, יֶפֶת ''Yép̄eṯ'', in pausa ''Yā́p̄eṯ''; el, Ἰάφεθ '; la, Iafeth, Iapheth, Iaphethus, Iapetus) is one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis, in which he plays a role in the story of Noah's drunk ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

10:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:5. Another Meshech is named as a son of

Shem Shem (; he, שֵׁם ''Šēm''; ar, سَام, Sām) ''Sḗm''; Ge'ez: ሴም, ''Sēm'' was one of the sons of Noah in the book of Genesis and in the book of Chronicles, and the Quran. The children of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, L ...

in 1 Chronicles 1:17 (corresponding to the form ''Mash'' in Genesis 10).

Historical interpretations

Meshech is mentioned along with

Tubal Tubal ( he, תֻבָל, ''Ṯuḇāl'', ), in Genesis 10 (the "Table of Nations"), was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah. He is known to be the father of the Caucasian Iberians (ancestors of the Georgians) according to primary sources. La ...

(and Rosh, in certain translations) as principalities of " Gog, prince of Magog" in

Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is ackn ...

38:2 and 39:1, and is considered a Japhetite tribe, identified by Flavius Josephus with the

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...

n "Mosocheni" ( Mushki, also associated with

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empire ...

ns or

Bryges Bryges or Briges ( el, Βρύγοι or Βρίγες) is the historical name given to a people of the ancient Balkans. They are generally considered to have been related to the Phrygians, who during classical antiquity lived in western Anatolia. Bo ...

) and their capital Mazaca. In

Hippolytus of Rome Hippolytus of Rome (, ; c. 170 – c. 235 AD) was one of the most important second-third century Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communities include Rome, Palestin ...

's chronicle (234 AD), the "

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...

" were identified as Meshech's offspring. In addition, Georgians have traditions that they, and other Caucasus people such as

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

, share descent from Meshech (Georgian:

Meskheti Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) ( Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were t ...

, and

Togarmah Togarmah (Hebrew: ''Tōgarmā'') is a figure in the "table of nations" in Genesis 10, the list of descendants of Noah that represents the peoples known to the ancient Hebrews. Togarmah is among the descendants of Japheth and is thought to repr ...

. In 1498,

Annio da Viterbo Annius of Viterbo ( la, Joannes Annius Viterb(i)ensis; 5 January 143713 November 1502) was an Italian Dominican friar, scholar, and historian, born Giovanni Nanni in Viterbo. He is now remembered for his fabrications. He entered the Dominican O ...

published fragments known as ''Pseudo-Berossus'', now considered a forgery, claiming that Babylonian records had shown a son of Japheth called Samothes had begun settling what later became

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...

in the 13th year of

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

. Later historians such as Raphael Holinshed (1577) identified Samothes as Meshech, and asserted that he first ruled also in Britain. Beginning from the 16th century, some European scholars proposed the idea that the Muscovites had stemmed from Meshech.

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...

(c. 1616) attributes this opinion to

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the L ...

(1497–1560) and to Benito Arias Montano (1571), and it was also followed later by

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician ** ''Jonathan Edwards'' (album), debut album ...

(1703–1758). Moreover, according to a legend first appearing in the '' Kievan Synopsis'' (1674),

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(''Moskva'') was founded by King Mosokh son of Japheth (i.e. Meshech), and was named for him and his wife, Kva. In this legend, they are also said to have had a son, Ya, and daughter, Vuza, who gave their names to the nearby Yauza River. According to Archibald Sayce, Meshech can be identified with Muska, a name appearing in Assyrian inscriptions, and generally believed to refer to the Mushki. Most reference books since Flavius Josephus generally identify Meshech in Ezekiel's time as an area in modern Turkey.''International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe'' Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda - 1994 - Page 288 1884964028 "The Hebrew Bible also mentions both Tubal (Tabal) and Meshech (Muski)"

References

{{Authority control Hebrew Bible nations Book of Genesis people Japheth Noach (parashah)

Historical interpretations

See also

References